By Jean Mikle, Asbury Park Press

Plans to build a new, expanded veterans clinic in Ocean County have hit yet another roadblock.

A notification on the federal Business Opportunities web site said the process to award a bid for the lease of an expanded clinic — along with plans to select a site has been canceled. 

That means the VA will have to re-do the entire bidding and site selection process, a lengthy procedure that could take many months. This marks the second time the VA has restarted the project after appearing close to selecting a site for the project.

The James J. Howard Outpatient Clinic in Brick serves area veterans. The Veterans Administration is looking for a larger space. (Photo: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.)

“This is an absolute failure on the part of the VA, and New Jersey’s veterans deserve better," said U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, who represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Ocean. "They deserve immediate solutions. Veterans across Ocean County have been underserved for years, and to have to wait is wholly unacceptable."

In a letter sent Friday to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, requested "an urgent meeting" with Wilkie to discuss "the extraordinarily disappointing announcement I received via email today that the Veterans Administration is, for the second time 'cancelling the current lease award and  re-procuring the Brick, NJ outpatient clinic lease.” 

The VA began seeking space for a new clinic in Ocean County in the spring of 2015, but in 2018, the agency decided to reopen the siting process for the clinic in an effort to "increase qualified competition" for the project. 

Kim called on the VA to "come forward with a full public explanation of why this process failed, what they will do immediately to increase access and improve health care services for our veterans, and what they will do to ensure this process does not fail again.”

The James J. Howard Outpatient Clinic on Route 70 in Brick is among New Jersey's busiest, serving between 10,000 and 12,000 patients a year. Brick's clinic is currently among the busiest in the state and serves three to four times as many patients as a majority of other VA clinics in New Jersey. 

The 34,000-square-foot clinic offers medical care for veterans, including primary health care, dental care, women's health care, mental health counseling and physical therapy. In 2014, a 5,000-square-foot annex was opened about a mile away on Route 88.

Ocean County has more veterans — about 40,000 — than any other county in New Jersey, according to U.S. Census data.

Monmouth County has about 30,000 veterans.

News of the another delay frustrated Brick Mayor John Ducey and Toms River Mayor Maurice B. "Mo" Hill Jr., who have been vying to host the new expanded clinic. Local officials had been expecting the VA to announce a location for the site by last month.

USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey editorial board sits down with (pictured) Republican incumbent Chris Smith and Democratic challenger Josh Welle during a debate at the Asbury Park Press in Neptune, NJ Thursday, October 25, 2018.  (Photo: Tanya Breen)

"It's very disappointing, I don’t just understand why they can’t just re-bid it," Ducey said, noting that the VA's leasing and site selection process was apparently canceled because a prospective winning bidder backed out of the project.

"Veterans are going to have to be stuck in their old facility for another couple of years," Ducey said.

In October, Brick's planning board approved a 75,000-square-foot medical facility on a 9.4-acre parcel  between Route 88, Jack Martin Boulevard and Burrsville Road. Ducey said the building would be well-suited to become a new VA clinic.

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"It’s ugly," Hill said. "I thought they were going to pick a site. I am hoping for a quick re-bid."

Toms River officials have made a pitch for an expanded clinic to be located on land off Hooper Avenue, near Caudina Avenue. The township has declared the site — adjacent to Seacourt Pavilion — a redevelopment area, in order to facilitate acquisition of some parcels there that Toms River does not own.